Every Word Counts

Do You Remember Those Days?

FUN – the three letter word that defines how we enjoy ourselves while engaged in some form of activity, whether alone or with others. That feeling cannot be compared to another…The adrenaline pumping, the heart beating, the face smiling and the laughter-filled air….oh that feeling itself is fun in itself.

As an adult in the late twenties, there are so many things people of my age do to relieve stress and calm the nerves that have been tightened up by the responsibilities that come with adulthood. Now that is no fun at all. The throes of being an adult just makes you miss what I call the golden age – CHILDHOOD; the good and wonderful days of reckless abandon.

Have you forgotten about it or is your mind still hovering over the thought like a mobile phone searching for network in the middle of the bush? Okay I will remind you…..

Do you remember those Coke/Pepsi/7Up promos where we were required to gather crown cocks that had a certain inscription or something just to win Sprint chewing gum? Ah sprint chewing gum! That white gum with minty freshness that I used to buy from Dauda, the ‘Aboki’ at the end of the street. I remember kids would go just about everywhere collecting crown cocks like a thrift collector or what the Yoruba people call Alajo. Now, for the unlucky few like Moi that never got to win one single pack of sprint chewing gum, we found great joy in converting the cocks to tires for our paper cars. That was some real good fun!

I can almost imagine your faces lighting up with fun memories from childhood, but hey, I still have the stage so please allow me to do my thing and hand the microphone over to you. Deal?

How can we forget the excitement of playing in the rain? If you did not indulge in this act as a child then it’s not too late to get a feel. Just act like you’re stranded in the rain without an umbrella, and when no one is watching, release yourself and dance like it’s your last (P.S: You’re fully responsible to whatever happens after the neighbors see you and assume you have lost a few nuts upstairs *wink*).

My sister and I were great experts at playing in the rain. We had a big drum for collecting water from the skies. Once it got filled up, we would then take turns to fully submerge our heads in the water and make bubbles in the water while counting down to see who would last longer in the water without breathing. Sometimes the rain would be so cold and make our teeth clatter and bodies shiver. That was some real good fun.

Okay wait guys; I will give you the microphone after this last one….

Do you remember talking or singing in front of a standing fan? Ha-ha, I love this one! The way the fast oscillating blades slice through your speech makes it come out like the voice of an alien of some sort. My sister once complained to me that the sound irritates her ears, so I would mischievously put the fan on when she wasn’t watching and scream into it. Irritated by the sound, she would chase me around the house and before we could say Jack Robinson, a fresh episode of ‘police and thief’ would ensue. For the benefit of those Ajebutter kids, police and thief like the name involved one or two persons acting like the law enforcement agents and chase the others, who are supposed to be villains, around with imaginary guns. That was some real good fun!

Wow, it felt good jogging down memory lane, knowing fully well that I can’t engage in those things anymore because of my age and status – one of the reasons why it sucks to be an adult. That’s another story for another day.

I am certain I did not mention a lot of other things we did for fun when we were younger, so please feel free to share those golden moments in the comment box below.

Before you go….

If you would like us to write something like this for you, click HERE to get in touch.